Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity
Jazz Lives in Syria, a musical fusion of East and West
22 July 2007Damascus - As German accordionist Manfred Leuchter and Syrian clarinettist Kinan Azmeh played a fusion of oriental jazz, melodies in minor keys set to syncopated rhythms echoed off the stone walls of the Citadel in Damascus and floated into a cool summer sky. Then the two musicians paused between songs to let the muezzin at the nearby Umayyad Mosque conduct his call to prayer.
The moment was indicative of the many meetings between East and West that played out during the third annual Jazz Lives in Syria festival, which opened in Damascus on July 2 and came to a conclusion on Monday night in Aleppo. Emphasising a theme of intercultural dialogue, the festival brought together musicians from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada and Italy - thanks, in part, to the efforts of the embassies that helped organise the event.
This year's festival boasted a line-up of 28 performances, with an average of 2,000 people in attendance each night. Some concerts brought in audiences of as many as 4,000 people.
On Saturday, the festival put on a program for children, with an interactive educational session sponsored by the Swiss Embassy in cooperation with Massar and the Al-Assad Youth Central Institute for Music. The festival gave Syrian audiences an opportunity to hear musicians from all over the world, and it allowed those musicians to interact with and learn from one another.
"By knowing Kinan, by knowing [oud player] Essam Rafea ... they are my teachers in a way. I might be their teacher in other ways, but we teach each other," said Leuchter, who spent eight years in Marrakech before meeting and recording with Azmeh at last year's festival.
The fraternity among the musicians participating in the jazz festival provided a telling contrast to the current discord among politicians in the region and on the international stage.
"At a time when the Middle East is going through a major crisis I wish politicians would follow the example of these musicians," said Swiss Ambassador Jacques de Watteville during his opening remarks for the festival. The ambassador, who has played a key role in organising the festival since its 2005 debut, praised the mutual respect and understanding among the musicians and the "message of friendship and openness" that they offer the world.
The idea for the festival came about when Hannibal Saad returned to Syria in 2003. Before that, he spent 10 years studying philosophy and working in the music and film industries in New York and Washington DC. Though he intended for his return to be just a visit, he sensed a change in the cultural atmosphere, particularly among musicians, which convinced him to stay.
"The incentive came from the musicians themselves, the Syrian musicians," says Watteville. "And the Swiss musicians were so impressed that they were willing cooperate. So it started from the roots. And the Swiss Embassy was fascinated by this cooperation and we decided to do what we could to help make this happen."
In 2005, the festival included seven performances. A year later, it expanded to 13 performances and a second venue in Aleppo because many Syrian musicians happen to live there.
"In 2005, we had the first festival that was organised in a very short time but with a lot of enthusiasm. And this enthusiasm generated more enthusiasm. So last year's was a bigger event and this year's is even bigger," Watteville said.
The success of the festival suggests the possibility that a cultural renaissance is stirring in Damascus through jazz.
"I see it progressing because I've been in the scene since I was a child. I think there has been a big cultural boom," said Kinan Azmeh.
"I think it's impressive how many concerts happen every week in Damascus. The number of independent Syrian bands coming into existence is quite something," said Azmeh, who began playing the violin when he was five but switched to the clarinet because it is easier for a left-handed musician to play.
A classically trained musician with a master's degree from the Juilliard School in New York, Azmeh recorded the album "9 Days of Solitude: The Damascus Session" with his group Hewar, which includes vocalist Dima Orsho and oud player Essam Rafea.
Azmeh attributes the current vibe of cultural openness in Syria and towards Syrian musicians to the political pressure placed on Syria, which pushes people to find other ways to express themselves and promote their heritage.
Because of this political situation, Azmeh says he and other Syrian musicians have received increasing invitations to play in foreign countries, including the United States. This phenomenon allows Azmeh, whose group Hewar means "dialogue" in Arabic, to represent an aspect of his country that usually does not reach Western living rooms.
"We're not claiming to offer an alternative to what Syria is, but we're a part of the whole society," Azmeh said. "It makes me feel really good [to be able to say]: 'Okay guys, we are from Syria. This is what we do. You want to listen to Fox News? Go ahead. If you want to listen to us? Go ahead, too.'"
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* Alex Selim is a masters student at John Hopkins University and a special writer to the Daily Star in Lebanon. This abridged article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org. The full text can be found at www.dailystar.com.lb.
Source: Daily Star, 11 July 2007, www.dailystar.com.lb
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.